Wednesday, November 25, 2009

IMPORTANT FINDINGS AT THE HARAPPAN SITES

IMPORTANT FINDINGS AT THE HARAPPAN SITES

Harappa The site was discovered by D.R. Sahni in 1921.Excavations at the site have led to following specific findings:(i) two rows of six granaries with brick platforms; 12 granaries together had the same area as the Great Granary at Mohenjo-daro;(ii) evidences of coffin burial and cemetry 'H' culture (two antelopes and the hunter on a potsherd from a cemetry have been discovered;(iii) single-room barrack;(iv) evidence of direct trade interaction with Mesopotamia; (v) a red sandstone male torso;(vi) stone symbols of female genitals.Mohenjo-daro It was the most important Harappan city.Some of the specific findings during the excavations of Mohenjo­ daro include:(i) a college, a multi-pillared assembly hall;(ii) ~he Great Bath.(the most important public place of thecity);(iii) a large granary (the largest building of Mohenjo-daro); (iv) a piece of woven cotton along with spindle whorls andneedles;(v) superficial evidence of horse;(vi) a pot-stone fragment of Mesopotamian origin;(vii) evidence of direct trade contact with Mesopotamia; (viii)a bronze dancing girl;(ix) evidence of violent death of some of the inhabitants(discovery of human skeletons put together);(x) a seal representing Mother Goddess with a plant growing from her w°Ir\Y' and a woman to be sacrificed by a man with a knife in his hand; (xi) a bearded man; and (xii) a seal with a picture suggesting Pashupati Mahadev.

Kalibangan Kalibangan was an important Harappan city.The word 'Kalibangan' means 'black bangles'. A ploughed field was the most important discovery of the early excavations. Later excavations at Kalibangan made the following specific discover­ies:(i) a wooden furrow;(ii) seven 'fire-alters' in a row on a platform, suggesting thepractice of the cult of sacrifice;(iii) remains of massive brick walls around both the citadel and the lower town (the second Harappan site after Lothal to have the lower town also walled);(iv) bones of camel;(v) a tiled floor which bears ir}tersecting design of circles; (vi) a human head with long oval eyes, thick lower lips,receding forehead and straight pointed nose; and (vii) evidences of two types of burials: (a) burials in acircular grave and (b) burials in a rectangular grave.

Lothal Lothal was an important trade centre of the Harappan culture. The town planning in Lothal was different from that of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. The city was divided into six sections. Each section was built on a wide platform of unripe bricks. Each platform was separated by a road with width ranging from 12 feet to 20 feet. Excavations at Lothalled to some specific discoveries which include: (i) remains of rice husk (the only other Harappan city where the rice husk has been found is Rangpur, near Ahmedabad); (ii) an artificial dockyard; (iii) evidence of horse from a doubtful terrac~tta figurine;(iv) impressions of cloth on some of the seals;(v) evidences of direct trade contact with Mesopotamia; (vi) houses with entrances on the main street (the housesof all other Harappan cities had side entries);(vii) a ship designed on a seal;(viii) a terracotta ship;(ix) a painting on a jar resembling the story of the cunningfox narrated in the Panchatantra; (x) evidence of double burial (burying a male and a female in a single grave); (xi) evidence of a game similar to modem day chess; and (xii) an instrument for measuring 180", 90" and 45" angles(the instrument points to modem day compass).

Chanhu-daro Excavations at Chanhu-daro have revealed three different cultural layers from lowest to the top being Indus culture, the }hukar culture and the }hangar culture. The site is specially important for providing evidences about different Harappan factories. These factories produced seals, toys and bone implements. It was the only Harappan city without a citadel Some remarkable findings at Chanhu-daro include bronze figures of bullock cart and ekkas; a small pot suggesting an inkwell, footprints of an elephant and a dog chasing a cat.Alamgirpur Alamgirpur is considered the eastern boundary of the Indus culture. Although the wares found here resemble those at other Harappan sites, other findings suggest that Alamgirpur developed during late-Harappan culture. The site is remarkable for providing the impression of cloth on a trough.

Kot-Diji Kot Diji is known more as a pre-Harappan site. It gives the impression of a pre-Harappan fortified settlement. Houses were made of stone. The remains of Kot-Diji suggest that the city existed in the first half of the third millennium Be Excavations at the site suggest that the city was destructed by force.Amri Amri also gives evidences of a pre-Harappan settle­ment. However, it lacks the fortification plan of the pre-Harappan phase. A spectacular feature of Amri is that it gives the impression of existence of a transitional culture between pre- and post­Harappan culture. Important findings at Amri include the actual remains of rhinoceros; traces of }hangar culture in late or declining Harappan phase and fire altars.

Ropar Ropar (modern Roop Nagar) is a Harappan site fromwhere remains of pre-Harappan and Harappan cultures have been found. Buildings at Ropar were made mainly of stone and soil. Important findings at the site include pottery, ornaments, copper axes, chert blades, terracotta blades, one inscribed steatite seal with typical Indus pictographs, several burials, interred in oval pits, and a rectangular mud-brick chamber. There is also an evidence of burying a dog below the human burial (Though the practice was prevalent in Burzhom in Kashmir, it was rare in the Harappan context).

Banwali Situated in Hissar district of Haryana, Banwali has provided two phases of culture during its excavations: the pre­Harappan (Phase I) and the Harappan (Phase II). Though phase Il belonged to the Harappan period, chess-board or grid pattern of town planning was not always followed as in other Harappan sites. The roads were neither always straight, nor did they cut at right angles. It also lacked another remarkable feature of the Harappan civilisation-a systematic drainage system. A high quality barley has been found in excavations. Other important material remains include ceramics, steatite seals and a few terracotta ~alings with typical Indus script.